Panini Recipes

Café culture comes in for the PadleyWood treatment with panini - delicious melt-in-the-mouth warm 'sandwiches' from Italy. Classic fillings are Mediterranean-based, but there's plenty of scope for innovation as I intend to demonstrate on this page!

All recipes serve 2 - 4, depending on accompaniments/occasion/appetite.

Blue 'Cheese', Rashers and Leek
Grown-ups' Chip Butty
Hummus and Roasted Pepper
Roasted Red Pepper, Pesto & 'Mozzarella' panini
Sausage, Caramelised Red Onion, Cheddar Sheese and Mustard 
Smoked Sheese, Rashers and Tomato with Basil 
Sun-dried Tomato, Mushroom and ‘Mozzarella’

A flavoursome lunchtime treat.

Ingredients

4 panini, sliced open
5 tbsp sunflower oil
1 pack Rashers
1 leek, sliced
seasoning
2 - 3oz/55 - 85g ‘Blue’- flavour Sheese
½oz/15g vegan margarine
4 tbsp chopped chives
2 tbsp finely chopped kalamata olives

Instructions

1. Fry the rashers over medium heat (you’ll probably need to do this in 2 batches) on both sides, reserving 1 tbsp of the oil.
2. Add this to any remaining oil in the frying pan then fry the sliced leek, turning regularly till browned. Season.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
4. Slice the ‘Blue’- flavour Sheese using a peeler or similar to obtain wafer-thin slices.
5. Mix together the margarine, chives and olives, then spread over all the cut surfaces of the panini.
6. Place a layer of 'cheese' on all the surfaces, then layer the rashers and leeks on the bottom pieces.
7. Snap the filled panini halves together to form a sandwich.
8. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes to heat through and slightly crisp the outside of the bread.

Break the mould with this twist on the classic British fast-food snack!

Ingredients

4 panini, sliced open
vegan margarine
4 medium potatoes, peeled and 'chipped'
oil, for deep-frying
1 pack Redwood's Scampi-style pieces or similar product
1 - 2 cans chip-shop style mushy peas
seasoning
malt vinegar
2 - 4 tbsp egg-free mayonnaise 

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C.
2. Deep-fry the chips at highest setting till golden.
3. Grill the Scampi-style pieces.
4. Spread the panini with the margarine.
5. Toss the chips with salt and vinegar and arrange on the panini bottoms with the Scampi-style pieces.
6. Spread a little egg-free mayonnaise on top then cover with the panini tops and heat in the oven for about 10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, heat the mushy peas in a pan.
8. Serve the panini on plates with the mushy peas and any spare chips on the side.

Another classic combination of Mediterranean ingredients.

Ingredients

4 panini, sliced open
4 mixed peppers (red, green, yellow), roasted
around ½ recipe hummus

Instructions

1. Prepare the peppers and hummus as directed.
2. Slice open the panini and spread the hummus over both exposed surfaces.
3. Chop the peppers into bite-size chunks, place on the bottom pieces in a random mix of colours and snap the filled panini halves together to form a sandwich.
4. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes to heat through and slightly crisp the outside of the bread.
5. Serve with a green salad with dressing of choice.

A favourite flavour combo gets the panini treatment.

Ingredients

4 panini, sliced open
2 - 3 red peppers, roasted and skinned
1 tbsp vegan pesto
2 tbsp olive oil
8 Tofutti 'Mozzarella' style slices or 2¾oz/75g 'Mozzarella'-style
    Sheese, sliced

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
2. Mix the oil and pesto.
3. Lightly spread the cut side of the panini with the oil/pesto mix, lay on the strips of roasted peppers and top with the 'cheese' slices.
4. Warm through in the oven for 10 minutes and serve with a green salad.

A hearty and warming recipe to savour during the colder times.

Ingredients

4 panini, sliced open
1 tbsp vegan margarine
2 red onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
8 vegan sausages
4 oz/115g 'Cheddar' Sheese 
4 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
seasoning 

Instructions

1. Melt the margarine in a pan over low-to-medium heat and cook the onions slowly so that they don't brown, but just soften.
2. Once cooked, season and stir in the balsamic vinegar. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, grill the sausages then allow to cool and cut in two lengthways.
4. Spread the mustard on the panini.
5. Slice the ‘Cheddar’ flavour Sheese using a peeler or similar to obtain wafer-thin slices.
6. Place a layer of these on all the cut surfaces, then arrange the sausages and onions on the bottom pieces and snap the filled panini halves together to form a sandwich.
7. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes to heat through and slightly crisp the outside of the bread.
8. Serve with a potato salad:

A very happy combination of flavours.

Ingredients

4 panini, sliced open
4 tbsp sunflower oil
1 pack Rashers
2 firm but ripe tomatoes, sliced
seasoning
2 – 3oz/55 – 85g ‘Smoked’- flavour Sheese
2 – 6 basil leaves, torn 

Instructions

1. Fry the rashers over medium heat (you’ll probably need to do this in 2 batches) on both sides.
2. Use any remaining oil in the frying pan to moisten the cut surface of the bread then very briefly fry the tomato slices in the hot frying pan on both sides.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
4. Slice the ‘Smoked’- flavour Sheese using a peeler or similar to obtain wafer-thin slices.
5. Place a layer of these on all the cut surfaces, then layer the rashers and tomatoes on the bottom pieces.
6. Season, then top with torn fresh basil and snap the filled panini halves together to form a sandwich.
7. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes to heat through and slightly crisp the outside of the bread.
8. Serve with a Caesar salad (note: the greens are provided by Cos (Romaine) lettuce only).

The inaugural recipe had to be a classic. Well, perhaps that’s inaccurate as these haven’t been around in this country for all that long, but I mean a timeless combination of Mediterranean ingredients.

Ingredients

4 panini
2 tbsp olive oil
3 large field mushrooms, sliced (about ¼”/6mm)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
seasoning
2 tsp lemon juice
2 – 3oz/55 – 85g ‘Mozzarella’-style Scheese
4 – 6 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste (or use same number of
  whole tomatoes, finely chopped) 

Instructions

1. Fry the mushroom slices over medium heat (you’ll probably need to do this in 2 batches) on both sides.
2. Towards the end of cooking time, add the garlic then the oregano, seasoning and lemon juice, mixing well (divide between batches).
3. Remove from heat and pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
4. Slice the ‘Mozzarella’ using a peeler or similar to obtain wafer-thin slices.
5. Slice open the panini and spread the sun-dried tomato paste over both exposed surfaces.
6. Layer the ‘Mozzarella’ on the paste then the mushroom slices on the bottom pieces and snap the filled panini halves together to form a sandwich.
7. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes to heat through and slightly crisp the outside of the bread.
8. Serve with a green salad with sun-dried tomato and balsamic dressing.